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I love road racing. I grew up about an hour away from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and spent many summer weekends wandering the grounds while soaking in the sounds and smells unique to the track. I’m pretty sure my first race was the Lumbermens Six Hours IMSA race in 1983, won by my local hero Bobby Rahal. I was four.
While I certainly enjoyed watching the CART and IMSA races, I always looked forward to the support races leading up to the main events. The best battles of the weekend were often dealt by the showroom stock classes, with small coupes and sedans bashing fenders and doors to get an edge in the corner.
Perhaps even as a kid I knew that I’d never be able to afford to race the big bore stuff, and adjusted my expectations downward. That must be why I adore homologation specials.
Those cars tweaked by the factory to perform just a bit better than a standard car. Carroll Shelby was a master at this, but most of the OEMs did it over the years. Dodge/Plymouth had the Neon ACR. Mazda had the Miata R. Chevrolet offered the 1LE package on the Camaro. Even Oldsmobile got in the game, with this 1991 Oldsmobile 442.
A high-revving, twin-cam four cylinder producing 190 horsepower in 1991? Most would assume such numbers would come from Honda, but the Quad 4 — despite its many faults — could produce serious horsepower for its time. Only a couple hundred of these W41 package cars were built on the Cutlass Calais N-Body, but the drivetrain and W41 moniker carried over to the new Achieva.
This one, which I found on the Obscure Cars For Sale Facebook group, is seriously overpriced. I’d have reservations paying more than $1,000 for this, so $3,500 is frankly insane. These aren’t going to cross the auction block in 20 years for six figures. They are cheap commuter cars, with a special drivetrain, and $5,000 would net a concours example — if it could be found.
Chris Tonn is a broke classic car enthusiast that writes about old cars, since he can’t afford to buy them. Commiserate with him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Has to be my least favorite Olds design of the 1990s. Compare it to any sedan, or the larger Cutlass (or even an Achieva) and it just falls down right away.
It doesn’t look modern, it doesn’t look slick, it’s not pretty, it’s not large, it isn’t luxurious. The only thing going for it is a W41 label and some rarity. For this money you could get a seriously nice late run Toronado Trofeo, which is roughly 147.55% cooler. And has a 3800.
See?
https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5430809660.html
Today it’s basically junk, but that Calais was a first class sleeper back in the day…
Look at this one!
http://zombdrive.com/images/1990-oldsmobile-cutlass-calais-9.jpg
Rawr. I like the International trim also.
There is some chuckle-worthy pricing of Oldsmobiles in the rustbelt. Here in Canada a Trofeo with 110k miles lists for ~700USD…and it still sits unsold for months.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/st-catharines/1990-oldsmobile-toronado-trofeo-coupe-2-door/1124972174?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
Well look at the pic, it’s been sitting outside for… years? The paint will be ruined on the bumper from moss, and it’s got serious stain issues along the rear. Plus it’s been outside, sinking into the ground.
That’s not a good one. Of course you can get a ruined example of something for $700.
And this one?
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/fredericton/stored-since-2004/1131528170?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
New Brunswick never looked so good.
Long time to be stored, so it’ll need stuff of course. But that one looks better – depending on HOW it was stored.
Are these people not able to manage more than one pic?
It’s a little hard to evaluate a car based off a single photo.
Here was my Bonneville. What do you think I sold it for?
http://tinyurl.com/j6ylmks
Bah can’t view tinylink at work.
@ajla
Depends on who bought it, the unwashed masses see an ’88 Pontiac while those of us with a sickness see a clean LN3 powered Bonne.
I like it, but too far away.
The navy Trofeo is like $550 US, or the price of an iPhone! Aside from the junky interior bits I like the final Toronado….and that one doesn’t have the red hell interior.
Look at it this way – except for the Acheiva SCX that replaced this, when’s the last time that Detroit put out a sport compact that wasn’t dressed up like a running shoe? It’s a very simple, restrained design, but it could be a lot worse. It could be a Pontiac.
Oh f**k yeah. Or a Reatta.
I owned a 4-4-2 back in 1969. Cannot find one anywhere now. 4-cylinder 4-door, 2-wheel drive; a 1961 Renault Dauphine Gordini.
Having seen the original iterations of the (Hurst?) 4-4-2, the last ones were pretty sad.
This is by far the saddest of the sad 442’s ever made. I’m depressed just looking at it. I never wanted an 80’s G-body “fake” 442 either but those look positively desirable next to this.
How many head gaskets has it gone through by now? The Quad 4 lent a LOT of its design to the Northstar, to ill effect.
I always loved the W41 442 Calais.
While a 190HP 4-banger in 1991 is nothing to sneeze at, they weren’t just a hot motor. These were a pretty serious effort at a homologation special.
They only built a couple hundred, they had their own specific W41 engine tune and camshafts, exhaust, along with a shorter ratio transaxle, a baffled fuel tank, and suspension package.
That really is a V8 horsepower figure for the early 90s.
When the Quad 4 was making 190 hp the Oldsmobile 307 Quadrajet was making 140 hp. It was indeed heady for the times.
The 307 was pretty old by then, yeah? I’m guessing it wasn’t in many applications – maybe a wagon or the Brougham. The 4.9 at the time was at 200HP.
Wagons and Cadillac Brougham.
You’ll have to forgive my Olds 307 anger, I owned one. The damn carb had to be rebuilt every 50,000 miles and I’m so mad that GM never bothered to TBI it which would have solved all of its problems while providing smoothness, horsepower and drive-ability.
So the 5.7 350 was far superior and got injection?
@Corey
Yes.
I was just adding kosher salt to Dan’s 307 wounds! :D
No really.
Most v6’s of the era were near or over that power figure.
Some pedestrian neglected American v8 maybe but torque was probably higher.
Most German v8s of the time we’re well above 250 hp.
American v8s were above 225 for the most part.
It’s good for its size at the time. I’ll give them that. Otherwise this was and is a POS that makes me wonder how American car manufacturers survived the late 80’s early 90’s. Thankfully they did.
My step mom bought one new in Cincinnati. It was a rocket of a sleeper. ‘Stangs, camero’s, even ‘vettes where shocked to get beat by a “Grand Am” looking olds.
Fun car for the era. A real sleeper. She just had it restored.
What’s homeboy doing in the passenger seat?
Giving you more reasons not to buy this car. It’s probably had seven owners and a title issue or two along the way. He’ll be late to meet you with it at the local Wal-Mart parking lot, as he had to stop for some cigs and a Mountain Dew and didn’t quite budget enough time.
I see this more as a “digestible collectible” than a “crapwagon”.
For $1000, I’d be a buyer.
This one looks rough, has the wrong wheels, and high miles. Only people with Olds sickness would even be interested.
I loves me some Olds but I wouldnt touch that for more than…..200 bucks? Canadian?
Scrap anymore is about $200 US tops for most autos.
I have the sickness. It looks too rough though. I don’t have the sickness for this specific model. I’d rather have a 90s blue-green Achieva SCX.
edit: I looked at the Craigslist ad and I won’t go over $500. they also have to drive it to the Detroit area and figure out transportation home.
Didn’t I find a blue green Achieva sans SCX for you up the street from me?
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/5420038973.html
Fit-een hunnit is a steal.
I actually like that one. I would DD it. I had a white ’96 for a bit. I should have never traded it in for a VW. My parents were worried about me having an old car while living in Detroit. So naturally, a reliable Volkswagen is the ticket! The mistake was me moving from a 5-speed %-cylinder Jetta to a DSG/2.0T version shortly after.
I like that Achieva so much I am seriously thinking about it. It’s the perfect winter beater for me.
The map location of it is not far from where I live, assuming its correct (it refers to North Side, but is located in the South Hills on the map. Fck North side). Do you want me to go look at it for you?
I’m going to contact the owner and then let you know. I can’t believe I want to buy another 90s Olds…hahaha.
3800 bolts right in…
I kind of want a Ninety-Eight of final generation, though I KNOW it’ll have electrical probs.
I’d have no issue running the 3100 until it dies. Get a couple years and everything after that is gravy.
The only issue I had with my 3100 powered Achieva was the gaskets. Replace them and it’s usually fine.
3100s without Dexcool never die, they just fade away…
Per the ad, the seller actually does have the “original mag wheels.”
People with Olds sickness were kind enough to post a 1991 Motor Trend review of the W-41: http://www.quad4forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4435
How rare is the Indy 500 version!?
https://limaohio.craigslist.org/cto/5369057302.html
Def Olds sickness is needed there but it looks cleaner than the “442”. 3.0 though in MY85?
I love the wheels and seats.
Yep 3.0.
http://www.geocities.ws/oldscalais85/
Warning – the background on there is the typical awful geocities thing from 1998. Prepare your eyes.
1985–1988 Buick 3.0 L (181 in³) V6, 125 hp (93 kW) and 150 lb-ft (203 N-m)
Gasp! This is some kind of ancient application of our lord and savior, 3800!
Praise be to the Junior Cardinal of Three Litre!
So say we all.
Was that derived from the pre-3800 POS V6?
I’m honestly not sure. Wikipedia seemed to make it sound like it was a 2bbl carb, which would make it pre-LN3.
So, I kinda want this. Not for that price though. An Achieva SCX W41 would be even better. I had one, and sometimes I miss it.
Blasphemous crap wagon. 442 meant 4 barrel card, 4 speed manual transmission, and 2 exhaust pipes.
Burn the witch!
Saw a pristine 70 442 at the Linq Auto Collection in Vegas. (not a W30 or they may have kicked me out for drooling all over the paint).
They should have come up with a different trim name for the car pictured here.
Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais W41 would have been fine.
Linq Auto Collection? There’s a car museum inside?
Not really a car museum, they make NO bones about charging you admission for what is essentially a showroom for on-sale classic/unique/rare cars.
Luckily, they had some nice cars when we were there, so it wasn’t a cynical rip off. But, I’d imagine it could be if if the selection waned.
My Dad had a base model Calais (iron duke, 3 speed auto) and I never thought it a bad looking vehicle. Compared to the Achieva that followed, I always thought this was a cleaner design that wasn’t trying so hard. Given that I mostly drove my Dad’s car in high school, I always lusted after the hotter versions. These 442 models are unicorns, but even the ‘regular’ Quad 4 with manual transmission (150-160 hp, 152 lb-ft) was nothing to be ashamed of at the time. After totaling my Dad’s Calais on a foggy night in a Target parking lot, my first car was a ’92 Sentra SE-R (hence my name). That had 140 hp / 132 lb-ft, albeit in a lighter vehicle. For their time, these were pretty cool little cars that flew under the radar perhaps more than they should have.
This might be the most cynical reappropriation of a classic old badge I’ve ever seen. 442? What is 442 about this car? They should have named it 499 or however many ccs each cylinder has.
“What is 442 about this car?”
Credit score of the second buyer?
You’ve just won the Olds 442 pictured!
Quad-4, 4 valves per cylinder, 2 camshafts. 10 seconds on Wikipedia. Boom.
Were you aware that in the late 70s, you could get a 442 with a piddling six? Even by the pathetic standards of the time, that would’ve been pretty cynical and sad. At least these were pretty seriously quick for the time, and however rough it was, 190hp out of a naturally aspirated four in 1989 was impressive.
Sorry. I recall at a young age a ride in a cousin’s friends 442 ragtop, golden era late 60s vintage.
It was thus that I met TORQUE, understood Four Barrel, and knew why men shifted manually.
Well, at least Pontiac never put Firebird on a J car….I think ?
Whatever is left is BoldNewGraphix. The car above is from some GM era that I totally missed, fortunately. I still enjoy the article-how these cars die is a story always.
Pontiac did put the LeMans name on a rebadged Daewoo.
My company had a lot of Oldsmobiles in its fleet back then. I remember the Olds zone rep dropping one of these at the office for the fleet manager to drive for a week. Same color, 4 spd, Quad 4. I drove it home for the weekend. Sort of fun shifting the gears. Don’t think it was more powerful than my company issued Cutlass Ciera with the 3.8 V6.
This 442 Calais W41, and the Achieva SCX W41, are on my bucket list. Mind you, probably somewhere not too far from the top. (Don’t judge.)
But either of the two must have that “elusive” (haha) Getrag 5MT.
There’s just *something* about a late 80’s/early 90’s Olds with a manual transmission.
Ugh,bad memories. Back in high school, a friend’s mom had a fairly new red W41 identical to this one. She was on her way to work one winter morning and lost control on a patch of ice, hitting a semi head-on. Another buddy and I were on our way to school and happened across the wreck just as the highway patrol were arriving. She was a very nice lady, very good to all of her son’s dumb friends. Horrible, horrible day.